Journal-bearing wedge.



R. E. FRAME.

JOURNAL BEARING WEDGE. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. a. 1907.

Patented Mar. 26, 1912.

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CQLUMIIA PLANOGRAPH Cm, WASHINGTON. n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT E. FRAME, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT-AND MESNEAS- SIGNMENTS, TO AMERICAN CAR AND FOUNDRY COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS,MISSOURI,

A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

JOURNAL-BEARING WEDGE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 26, 1912.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, ROBERT E. FRAME, a citizen of the United States,residing at St. Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new and usefulImprovement in J ournal- Bearing Wedges, of which the following is afull, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of thisspecification, in which- Figure 1 is a view of one face of my improvedwedge, which is made, preferably, of malleable iron; Fig. 2 is a view ofthe opposite face of the wedge, showing in dotted lines the location ofthe ribs shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a side elevational view; Fig. 4 is acentral longitudinal sectional view, the section being taken on line 44of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is an end view and Fig. 6 is a transverse sectionalview, the section being taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 1.

The object of the invention is to produce a journal bearing wedge or keyadapted to cooperate with, and lock in position, the

journal bearings used with railway rolling stock, which wedge willrespond to the standard requirements of the Master Car BuildersAssociation but which will be lighter and more durable than the standardwedge now on the market, and this invention relates to a generalarrangement of the integral elements of the wedge comprising the bodyportion thereof whereby a wedge of malleable iron is produced in whichthe portion of such wedge which is subjected to strains incident to usewill be of thin metal which can be thoroughly annealed and consequentlybe very strong and durable in serv1ce.

Referring to the parts 7 indicates the wedge which is provided with athickened edge portion 8 which edge portion entirely surrounds the webportion 9, while there is also provided a ledge 8 extending at one endbeyond the edge portion 8.

To comply with the present requirements of the Master Car BuildersAssociation rules it is essential that the wedge shall, in the main, beof standard length, breadth and thickness adapted to interlock with ajournal bearing and with depending lugs formed on the journal box.

lVedges of cast iron are commonly used but, owing to the thickness ofmaterial employed, it is practically impossible to thoroughly annealwedges now in use.

To overcome this difliculty I have produced the wedge shown in theaccompanying drawings comprising the usual thickness between extreme topand bottom faces but formed with a web portion 9 which is relativelythin, extending throughout the area between said edge portions, whilediagonally disposed ribs extending in opposite directions projectvertically from opposite faces of said web. The ribs 10 extend from oneedge obliquely to the opposite edge on one face while the ribs 10 extendfrom the longitudinal raised edge portions to the edge portions at theends and are of nearly equal cross sectional area throughout theirlength and are preferably straight from end to end.

On the opposite side the ribs are provided with central portions 11-11which are substantially straight and cross the ribs 10 at nearly rightangles, the ribs 11 extending from one side edge to the opposite sideedge portion while the ribs 11' extend from the side edge portions tothe raised edges at opposite ends of the web.

The ribs 1l11 terminate in angular end portions which are disposed at anangle to the middle portions thereof and said angular end portions 12are so arranged that the angular end of one rib will be in substantialalinement with the end of another of said ribs and preferably inalinement with the rib next but one of this series. Thus, a line drawnthrough the center of any rib extension 12, parallel with the transverseaxis of the wedge, will intersect three ribs upon one side and crossthree ribs upon the opposite side of the web, thereby calling into playto resist a strain on such line the web portion and at least six of theribs.

It will be observed that all of the ribs extend beyond the median lineof the wedge and that each rib crosses a plurality of ribs upon theother side of said web.

The web is of thin metal and the ribs are of such thickness as to assistin thorough annealing in manufacture, the ribs being about of an inch inwidth at their middle portions while the anchoring angular extensions ofsome ribs are about of an inch wide and others are of an inch wide,though it is obvious that these proportions may be varied.

From Fig. 2 it will be observed that the major portion of the angularportions 12 are out of vertical alinement with the end portions of theribs on the opposite side, thereby permitting said angular portions tobecome properly annealed.

I am aware that wedges have been patented, said wedges being providedwith ribs and projections adapted to cooperate with sockets in journalbearings to provide looking means therebetween. This is not the objectof my invention and it is not my intention to claim the ribs as lookingribs to interlock with a journal bearing. The ribs in my device arestrengthening ribs adapted to reinforce and strengthen a thin web ofmetal and to fill the space provided by the standard requirements of theMaster Car Builders Association between the upper face of a journalbearing and the inner lower face of the journal box.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A wedge comprising a body provided with obliquely disposed integralribs upon opposite sides, some of the ribs on one side extendingentirely across said wedge and some of said ribs extending only acrossthe median line of said wedge.

2. A journal bearing wedge, comprising a body with relatively thin webportion and having obliquely disposed integral ribs upon opposite sides,and a plurality of the ribs upon one side crossing a plurality of ribsupon the opposite side, at both sides of the median line.

3. A journal bearing wedge, comprising a relatively thin web or bodyportion provided with a plurality of separated strengthening ribs, saidribs having central portions and integral end portions, the end portionspositioned substantially parallel to the transverse axis of the wedgeand the central portions formed at an angle to the end port-ions, all ofsaid ribs extending from the side of said wedge substantially to themedian line.

4. A wedge of malleable iron having a series of substantially paralleldiagonal ribs extending substantially across each of its two oppositefaces and crossing on the median line and at each side thereof.

5. A journal bearing wedge of malleable iron comprising a relativelythin web or body provided with sets of obliquely disposed transverseribs formed upon opposite sides thereof, some of the ribs of one setcrossing ribs of the other set at each side of the median line.

6. A malleable iron journal bearing wedge, comprising a thin web or bodyportion provided with a thickened edge portion and obliquely disposedstrengthening ribs, said ribs having central portions and integral endportions, the end portions being substantially parallel and the centralportions formed at an angle to the end portions, all of said ribsextending from the side of said wedge substantially to the median line.

7. A wedge of malleable iron, having a series of substantially paralleldiagonal ribs on each of its two opposite sides, said ribs crossing themiddle portion of said wedge in opposite directions on opposite sides ofthe wedge.

8. A malleable iron journal bearing Wedge comprising a body portion withintegral obliquely disposed ribs of varying width all of which cross atthe median line of said wedge.

9. A journal bearing wedge comprising a body with obliquely disposedribs upon opposite sides, and the ribs upon one side crossing the ribsupon the opposite side on both sides of the longitudinal axis of saidwedge.

10. A journal bearing wedge comprising a body provided with sets oftransverse ribs upon opposite sides, a plurality of the ribs of one setcrossing a plurality of the ribs of the other set upon both sides of thelongitudinal axis of said wedge.

11. As a new article of manufacture, a journal bearing wedge formed of asingle malleable casting and provided upon opposite sides withtransversely extending ribs which ribs cross at both sides of the medianline.

12. A wedge of malleable iron having a series of substantially paralleldiagonal ribsextending transversely thereof on each of its two oppositefaces which ribs cross at both sides of the longitudinal axis of saidwedge.

13. A journal bearing wedge comprising a body with integral transverselyextending ribs upon opposite sides and the ribs upon one side crossingthe ribs upon the opposite side on the median line of said wedge alsoupon both sides of said line.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence oftwo witnesses, this 16th day of August 1907.

ROBERT E. FRAME.

lVitnesses FRED G. WOLFE, WM. J. R011.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of latents,v

Washington, D. C.

